Fix These 5 Common Joomla! 3.2 Issues Now

Joomla! (or Joomla) is one of the most commonly used Content Management System in the world today. With more than 50 million downloads, it has become the second most used CMS in the world, lagging behind WordPress only.

One of the best features of Joomla is that it uses Object Oriented Programming (OOP) framework. Written in PHP, Joomla is supported by Model-View-Controller web application framework. This particular framework can be used independently.

Joomla offers you with more than 7700 extensions for usage on the web-based templates. A good thing about Joomla is that it can be installed on a LAMP stack as well.

Nothing is perfect though. Every CMS has its advantages and disadvantages. In this post, I will highlight some of the major concerns facing the Joomla 3.2 users. I will also provide some useful recommendations to address these issues.

reCAPTCHA is not working!

This is one of the most important issues being faced by Joomla 3.2 users since its release. The reCAPTCHA problem has always haunted Joomla. The reason for this problem is that the users tend to use old reCAPTCHA addresses in the old core files. It is a fact that Google has changed all the reCAPTCHA files’ URLs. In the latest release of Joomla 3.2, all reCAPTCHA functions are disabled temporarily. But don’t worry we have a solution for you. We recommend you to:

• Get an updated version installed.
• Use correct public and private keys
• Create a global key on reCAPTCHA configuration page. Check “Enable this key” box. This step will enable the reCAPTCHA function to work on all sub-domains.
• Change and modify the code in recaptcha.php file. (Plugins –> Captcha –> Recaptcha  folder)

From:

const RECAPTCHA_API_SERVER = "http://api.recaptcha.net";

const RECAPTCHA_VERIFY_SERVER = "api-verify.recaptcha.net";

Change to:

const RECAPTCHA_API_SERVER = "http://www.google.com/recaptcha/api";

const RECAPTCHA_VERIFY_SERVER = "www.google.com";

Joomla! 3.2 registration and login problem

Passwords are important for each and every user. They are used to protect data from unauthorized access. That is why they are kept confidential. As far as Joomla registration and login is concerned, it supports a 128-bit strong password. If your password for registration is short and weak, then you will experience problems in your login. Users, who tend to use older version of Joomla, tend to face such issues. We recommend you to:

• Upgrade the version you are currently using to Joomla 3.2
• Modify the code in the core files.
• Reset the password.

Edit /libraries/joomla/user/user.php:

Change

$array['password'] = $crypt . ':' . $salt;

to

$array['password'] = $crypt;

Edit /components/com_users/models/reset.php:

Change

$password = $crypted . ':' . $salt;

to

$password = $crypted;

Change

if (!($crypt == $testcrypt))

to

if (!($user->activation == $testcrypt))

Change

$testcrypt = JUserHelper::getCryptedPassword($data['token'], $salt);

to

$testcrypt = JUserHelper::getCryptedPassword($data['token'], 
$salt, 'md5-hex');

Edit /plugins/authentication/joomla/joomla.php:

Change

if ($crypt == $testcrypt)

to

if ($result->password == $testcrypt)

Blank screen after Joomla! 3.2 upgrade

This is one of the most common problems that Joomla users face. A blank screen occurs just after the upgrade (or installation). This may be due to the fact that the server does not support the upgraded version of Joomla. To solve this problem, we recommend you to:

• Find configuration.php in your Joomla! installation folder.

• Set display error options to ‘maximum’ by editing configuration.php file.

• Locate the remember.php file and rename it.

Quickstart installation database import problem

What if the installation of Joomla halts midway and your system does not respond. It means that there is some problem, which is causing your system to hang at a critical juncture. Check the picture below:

Image Courtesy: Gavick

This never-ending problem occurs due to error in PHP file in installer code. But stop! Before using this package, you should ensure that your server configuration is supported.

We recommend you to:

• Check your PHP settings.
• Disable display errors.
• Modify the .htaccess file with code

php_flag display_errors off

Increase the PHP memory limit from 32-bit to 64-bit, as recommended by Joomla. Use the following code:

memory_limit = 64 M ;

• Check the php.ini file and increase the maximum execution time limit. You should set the time limit from 60 to 240 seconds.
• Go for manual installation.
• Delete or rename the installation folder.
• Create a new configuration.php file and put the following code in it:

public $offline_message = 'This site is down for maintenance.';
public $display_offline_message = '1';
public $offline_image = '';
public $sitename = 'gk_creative__J30';
public $editor = 'tinymce';
public $captcha = '0';
public $list_limit = '20';
public $access = '1';
public $debug = '0';
public $debug_lang = '0';
public $dbtype = 'mysql';
public $host = '-------localhost or ???-------';
public $user = '-----MySQL user-------';
public $password = '----MySQL password ---------';
public $db = '---------MYSQL data base-------';
public $dbprefix = '----your--prefix-----';
public $live_site = '';
public $secret = 'qLgqKaKKj7piuE1C';
public $gzip = '0';
public $error_reporting = 'default';
public $helpurl = 'http://help.joomla.org/proxy/index.php?
option=com_help&keyref=Help{major}{minor}:{keyref}';
public $ftp_host = '';
public $ftp_port = '';
public $ftp_user = '';
public $ftp_pass = '';
public $ftp_root = '';
public $ftp_enable = '';
public $offset = 'UTC';
public $mailer = 'mail';
public $mailfrom = '[email protected]';
public $fromname = 'gk_creative_J30';
public $sendmail = '/usr/sbin/sendmail';
public $smtpauth = '0';
public $smtpuser = '';
public $smtppass = '';
public $smtphost = 'localhost';
public $smtpsecure = 'none';
public $smtpport = '25';
public $caching = '0';
public $cache_handler = 'file';
public $cachetime = '15';
public $MetaDesc = '';
public $MetaKeys = '';
public $MetaTitle = '1';
public $MetaAuthor = '1';
public $MetaVersion = '0';
public $robots = '';
public $sef = '1';
public $sef_rewrite = '0';
public $sef_suffix = '0';
public $unicodeslugs = '0';
public $feed_limit = '10';
public $log_path = '/logs';
public $tmp_path = '/tmp';
public $lifetime = '15';
public $session_handler = 'database';

If you are using MySQL, make changes using your database management software.

• Check for prefix_users table.
• Change the value of “block” from 0 to 1
• Change your password.

PHP warning (strict) messages on the front page

This problem is also related to server configuration. Many companies don’t follow Joomla’s prescribed guidelines. This is the reason why they face such issues. Keeping the display_errors off is the real solution. But if you don’t bother to change the status of display_errors, then you have to change the global server configuration. For this, you will need the help of a Joomla! developer or your web host.

We recommend you to follow Joomla’s recommendations and keep the display_errors off.

If you know a different solution to these Joomla! issues, do let us know in the comment section below.

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Salman Mehdi

Salman Mehdi works as Digital Content Producer for Cloudways. In his spare time, he reads books, blog posts, or anything that catches his fancy.

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